Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1887-12-04
AULD lang SYNE
A Continuance Of the Registers Readable
"reminiscences.
WHEN rHE RIVER Was hits PRIZE.
An Old Boatman Talks Of the Steamers Of
Forty Years Ago.
THE OLD TINES PAST FOREVER,

A REGISTER reporter yesterday had q
most interesting chat with an old river
man, who followed the raging Ohio nearly
half a century ago. From him was CLEANED
some very interesting "reminiscences Of the
by-gone days, a portion Of the facts being
here presented to our readers:
About the year 1912 and 'i3 was in.
augurated on a moderate scale a daily line
of what at that period was considered frst'
class side-wheel steamboats, to ply between
Pittsburgh and Cincinnati and intermedi
ate ports. This line grew in favor and
popularity until it became famous as Q
highway Of travel aud commerce, being al
that time the rapid transit for travellers
and express goods as well as heavy freight
between the east, the west and south
Pittsburg being the head of navigation,
with Wheeling as a valuable and profitable
adjunct as a feeder, a very large amount o.
merchandise and travel coming in over thu
National Road to the latter city, destined
for points south and west.
Among the first boats of the line
which memory recalls were ths
Valley Forge, Swiftsure, Aliquippa, Ma
jestic, Monogahela, Hibirnis, Messenger,
New England and Clipper. This class O.
boats continued until about the year lS47,
when a finer and more powerful class be
gan to take their place, such as the Hi
birnia No. ?, Messenger No. 2, New Eng
land No. 2, Clipper No. 9, Wisconsin,
Isaac Norton and Brilliant, with the Cir
cassian as an independent. In the spring
of 1s4s, the tive Telegraphs, No. l and No
2, were built, and entered the Pittsburt
and Louisville trade, which Of course
made them rivals of the other line from
Cincinnati up.
Some tall racing up the river occurred
could hold her own, but the No.
was a slow coach and did not worry Them
to any serious extent.
From 1850 TO 1853 the line reached its
acme of perfection in building and equip,
ping the finest and most powerful line ol
packets that ever divided the waters of the
Upper Ohio. The fleet was composed Of
the following floating palaces: Buckeye
State, Cincinnati, Philadelphia, Pittsburg,
Allegheny, Keystone State, Pennsylvania,
and Crystal Palace.
While these boats were in their high
tide the b. & o. Road was completed Ia
Wheeling, aud to accommodate the trade
and travel from said road a daily line Of
steamers, equal in all respects. or nearly
so, to the Pittsburg line, was built and
entered the trade between Wheeling and
Louisville. These two lines Of boats were
az a matter Of course antagonistic, and the
suit over the suspension bridge at Wheeling
which had been prosecuted by Pittsburg
parties left the two cities equally at vari.
ance. The Plttsburg packets for a while
passed Wheeling without landing. SO far
as intercourse was concerned, they were
as the Jews and Samaritans. After three
or four years of such warfare, which be-
came somewhat Rellowed by. time, both
lines had to succumb to the inevitable.
The iron horse had made his appearance
and had come to stay. Being more fleet OF
foot and longer winded, the boats were
driven to the wall.
The names of the last-named line oil
boats were as follows: Thomas Swan,
David White, Alvin Adams, City of Balti.
more, Virginia, City Of Wheeling, Falls
City.
To some it is a pleasure to view and
ponder over the memory of those good old
days and look back with pride at the en-
ergy aud perseverance, which made it pos.
sible to carry out the enterprises which
the times demanded, it may be a question
Of doubt whether those times were not
better for the people of the Ohio Valley
than the present. The boats were the meaus
Of furnishing employment to besides their
crews wagoners, warehouses;, whaItboats,
wood aud coal yards, boat builders and an
innumerable number Of various kinds OF
labor. The money was circulated and
kept at home, now it all finds its way TO
Eastern Golfers where it remains.
Zone of the aforesaid packets left Pitts
burg daily and one left Cincinnati daily,
and everybody that had business to
transact were on the alert until they
passed their various landings. These
were the wharfboat men, omnibusses, no.
tel runners, passengers, coalyard and
woodward tenders and shippers generally,
OF the commanders Of the line when 10 was
in its prime, | remember Klinefelter,
BeltzhoOver, Crooks Woodward, Reno,
Stone, Dean, Maratta, Koontz, c. W.
Bachelor, etc. The statesmen OF the coun.
try, the President, Senators, members OF
Congress, politicians, great and small,
from the southwest, travelled over this line,
goirg TO and returning from Washington
City. Some would stop at Wheeling and
take stage over the National Road, Others
would go via Pittsburg."